Young Inuit take to the skies in pilot training program with dreams of serving Nunavik

An enthusiastic applause greets Melissa Haney as she walks into a classroom at Iguarsivik high school in Puvirnituq, Nunavik. She was just introduced as the first Inuk woman to captain a Boeing 737. 

The students hang on every word as she recounts her story — a childhood dream that seemed out of reach, but finally came true thanks to perseverance. 

"Who wants to become a pilot?" she finally asks the students. One, two, three timid hands go up. 

Then one of them speaks up and asks, "What if I fail?"

"Failing is part of becoming successful," says a teacher. "But nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself." 

Hanley regularly flies Air Inuit's route between Montreal and Puvirnituq. Originally from Inukjuak, a village above the 58th parallel, she knows firsthand what life is like in the community for these students. 

"We know there are many challenges for youth in the North," she told Radio-Canada. "There's a gap in education levels and infrastructure right from elementary school. They need a bit of a helping hand. Our message is that, 'yes, you can do it and we're here to help you'."

In addition to being a pilot for Air Inuit, Hanley also coordinates the airline's Sparrow training program. The initiative, which started in 2014, is meant to increase the number of Inuit pilots flying in Nunavik. Each year, the airline selects a handful of candidates and sends them to a flying academy in the Montreal area. The candidates are also guaranteed a job with the airline if they successfully complete the training. 

"We're about 240 pilots at Air Inuit, but barely 10 per cent are actually Inuit," says Hanley. "It's important for Inuit from Nunavik to work here. It's their airline."

Unlike many other smaller airlines, Hanley says Air Inuit isn't seen as a stepping stone for local pilots. 

"Inuit pilots want to stay in the North," she says. "That means good employees that stick around longer." 

It also means the pilots are already well-adapted to flying conditions: 35 knot winds in -35 C, blowing snow across gravel runways, and limited ground services. 

"You have to love flying and working in the North because the conditions are extreme," says Hanley.

For many, piloting in the North isn't just a job, it's a calling. In Nunavik, air travel isn't considered a luxury like it is in many other parts of the country; it's a lifeline that connects isolated villages dotted across the vast landscape, be it for food, supplies, or services.